TEHRAN – Alireza Kazemi, the Minister of Education, has written separate letters to Salim bin Mohammed Al-Malik, the director general of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Khaled El-Enany; the director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and Catherine Russell, the executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), urging them to condemn the U.S..-Israeli attacks to educational and cultural organizations in the country.

“As the Minister of Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I wish to express my deepest regret and strongest condemnation regarding the crimes committed by the United States of America and the Israeli Regime. 

These acts, characterized by illegal aggression and the deliberate bombing of residential zones, healthcare facilities, and vital educational infrastructures, particularly schools, constitute a grave assault on my nation,” Kazemi wrote to El-Enany.

“As you are aware, these targeted attacks represent a flagrant violation of the principles of international law, fundamental human rights, and the numerous international conventions and recommendations established to protect civilians, especially children and vulnerable populations. 

The international targeting of schools and students is an inhumane and calculated act designed to devastate the future generations of our country.” 

“Beyond the tragic loss of these oppressed martyrs and victims, approximately 20 educational centers have sustained severe damage, with some being completely destroyed. These attacks have severely disrupted the educational process for thousands of students, depriving them of their fundamental right to learn in a safe environment.”

“In light of UNESCO’s crucial mission to support education and promote peace, I urgently request that your organization firmly condemn these anti-human crimes. I further call upon you to demand that the aforementioned aggressors cease their attacks against educational infrastructure, schools, and students immediately,” the letter reads.

In separate and similar letters to UNICEF and ISESCO directors, Kazemi provided detailed information and statistics of these inhumane attacks as of March 3 across the country as follows:

In Minab city, 168 martyrs and 110 injured; in Fars province, 1 teacher and 5 students martyred; In Ilam province, 1 teacher and 2 students martyred; In East Azarbaijan province, 1 teacher injured and 2 students martyred; in Tehran province, 4 students martyred, 1 teacher martyred, and 2 students injured; and in Qazvin province, 1 student martyred.  

Meanwhile, Science Minister Hossein Simaei-Sarraf has called for UNESCO to adopt clear and decisive stance against the violation of international law by the United States and the Zionist regime.

“The recent military attacks by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran not only has led to a vast destruction, but also is a shocking sign of the clear violation of international law, humanitarian principles, as well as international conventions advocated by UNESCO,” Simaei-Sarraf said in a letter to UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, IRNA reported. 

These attacks have systematically targeted the basic foundation of the life of civilians and human dignity, he added.

The letter has enumerated crimes, damage, and the violations thereafter in areas related to education, culture, and communication sectors, as well as human being.

Targeting a school in the city of Minab which led to the martyrdom of 168 innocent girl students, attacking UNESCO-registered Golestan Palace, targeting the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and violating Geneva conventions regarding support of civilians and medical staff were highlighted by the science minister.

“We expect UNESCO to adopt clear and decisive stance with regard to such obvious violations of international law and condemn the attacks strongly. 

The eyes of the world are on UNESCO take a leading role in safeguarding culture,” the letter reads.

Moreover, in a letter to the World Health Organization, a group of Iranian students of medical science universities urged international organizations, especially the WHO, to condemn the U.S.-Israeli attacks to medical and healthcare centers across the country.